this post was submitted on 02 May 2024
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They would, given the chance.
https://www.treehugger.com/animals-that-are-bad-for-the-environment-4869350
Elephants can cause deforestation. And I'm sure everyone is familiar with invasive plants taking over an area and turning it into a monoculture.
It's also not like most humans are doing jackshit to cause climate change, it's caused by the few percent of richest people on earth.
Humans are inherently smart and kind and generous and whatnot, specific people are devoid of empathy and are merrily abusing everyone else for profit.
They're "invasive" because humans brought them into new ecosystems where they shouldn't be in the first place. Plants (and animals) just don't just go around invading other ecosystems afaik.
Also, elephants taking down trees, they're (mostly) supposed to do that. It plays a vital role in the ecosystem too. Elephants taking down large trees makes it easier for smaller plants to grow, making the ecosystem more diverse. Also these trees and the elephants have co-evolved for centuries, so I they know how to live with eachother and can probably do that for years to come.
Also, that's besides the point. Other animals aren't as conscious as us. We are not just following instincts the same way as them. We know stuff we're doing is destroying the planet, yet we continue because $$$